1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a table cover plate or board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the case of plates or boards the edge protection has a number of functions. It is firstly intended to protect the edges against mechanical damage and secondly to protect the user from injury. If the core plate is made from a wood material, the open-pore cut edges of the core plate must also be protected against dirty and moisture. Finally the edge protection is intended to improve the gripability of the plate and therefore the handlability and transportability of an item of furniture or kitchen appliance provided with such a plate, e.g. a table, refrigerator, washing machine, spin drier, etc. The latter function is also fulfilled by the frequently encountered measure of extending the edge protection over and beyond the underside of the plate, so that it is readily possible to engage below the latter. In the case of kitchen equipment where the cover plate mainly serves for storing, setting down and working surface, the aim of the downwardly drawn edge protection is to cover the gap between the plate and the equipment casing. In this case on the underside of the plate there are frequently functional parts such as sleeves, clips, etc. made from a plastic material and fitted by injection moulding, so that the plate is fixed to the equipment casing. These functional parts are also covered by the edge protection.
The edge protection is made from a plastic material which is mechanically sufficiently stable and which is resistant to aggressive media and against weathering. This plastic material in an injection mould, in which is inserted the prefabricated core plate with a cover layer on one or two sides, is moulded onto the open-pore cut edges of the core plate, so that the plastic material penetrates the pores and the edge protection is locked to the core plate. At the same time the edge protection engages over at least the top of the core plate. This gives a firm and at the same time tight connection between the edge protection and the core plate. It is also known to manufacture the edge protection in a separate operation, e.g. by the injection moulding or extrusion of a ledge-like section and it is then connected to the core plate by bonding in a further operation.
The known injection moulding of the edge protection onto the core plate has the advantage that the sought after functions described above can be inexpensively achieved. However, it is disadvantageous that the edge protection cannot be subsequently removed. This problem occurs for environmental protection reasons if the table or cover plate, optionally also the furniture on which they are located, is subject to damage or rendered valueless or unusable in some other way and has to be supplied to waste utilization or there is a manufacturer return obligation, such as e.g. exists for refrigerators, who is then responsible for disposal and optionally reutilization. Then it is in particular necessary to separate on the basis of the individual materials, so that it is desirable in the case of cover or table plates to be able to completely or at least largely separate the edge protection with a relatively high plastics proportion which is reusable from the core plate.
This is made possible in the known construction according to the preamble of claim 1 (EP 555 738 A1) in that the edge protection comprises two angle sections injection moulded in a closed frame form, whereof an outer frame with a long leg covers the cut surfaces of the core plate and projects over the underside thereof and with the other leg engages over the top side, whereas the other, inner frame engages with its one leg on the inside of the long leg of the outer frame in its area projecting over the underside and with its other leg engages on the underside of the core plate and following the insertion of the core plate in the outer frame, both frames are interconnected by their engaging legs.
The two closed frames formed from angle sections can be manufactured in simple manner by injection moulding and consequently have an adequate dimensional stability. The prefabricated core plate can then be inserted from above in the outer frame located on its short leg, so that it rests with its top surface on the inside of the leg of the angle section, whereas the other, longer leg projects upwards.
Subsequently the inner frame and with a roughly parallel arrangement with the outer frame is fitted from above on the underside of the core plate until its one leg rests on the underside of the core plate. By joining the engaging legs a closed, frame-like structure is obtained, which completely surrounds the core plate, whose optionally open-pore areas of the cut cover and engage over the top and bottom of the edges of the core plate, so that the areas of the cut are effectively protected against the access of dirt and moisture. This gives the same functionally correct construction as with an injection moulded on edge protection. However, it is still possible to remove the edge protection with limited force from the core plate and to obtain the two components in type-pure manner, because there is no integral joint or, in the case of an injection moulded on edge protection, an intimate joint between the edge protection and the core plate.
However, the known plate or board suffers from certain disadvantages if in the form of a cover plate for domestic machines and equipments it is exposed to heat action in addition to the action of moisture. There can in particular be a cambering of the plate, as well as damage to the edge protection. This more particularly applies to the cover plates used for washing and rinsing machines, driers, etc.
The object of the present invention is to further develop the aforementioned, known plate, that it can withstand without damage thermal stresses, while providing an adequate moisture protection.